Vermont boating laws: life jackets, boater education and jet skis
What Vermont law requires on the water, pulled from official sources and linked line by line: life jackets, boater education, jet skis, paddle craft and registration.
- Kids must wear a life jacket
- Under 12
- Boater education card
- Required (see who)
- Jet ski / PWC minimum age
- 16 to operate …
- Emergency
- 911 · VHF Channel 16
Emergency on the water in Vermont
On inland lakes and rivers, 911 reaches the people who respond there: county sheriff marine units, state conservation officers and local fire and rescue.
Emergency and non-emergency contacts in Vermont
911 for emergencies on all waters. On Lake Champlain (federally navigable), the U.S. Coast Guard also responds via VHF Channel 16. Vermont State Police Williston barracks: 802-878-7111.
Coast Guard sectors covering Vermont
Each sector runs a 24-hour command center. Its line is useful for reporting an overdue boat or reaching the Coast Guard by phone, but in a distress use VHF Channel 16 or call 911 first.
| Sector Northern New England | (833) 449-2407 24-hour Coast Guard sector line · checked Oct 2026 · atlanticarea.uscg.mil |
|---|
Toll-free 8xx numbers may not connect from a foreign SIM or a satellite phone.
How to call the Coast Guard: VHF 16 or 911 · Coast Guard phone numbers by region
Vermont life jacket laws (and kids)
Children
Children under 12 must wear a USCG-approved wearable life jacket at all times while underway on the open deck of any vessel.
Source: boat-ed.com
Everyone else, towing and seasonal rules
Anyone under 16 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket while on a sailboard (windsurfer). Anyone towed must wear one (ski belts do not count). Sailboards are exempt from the carry-one-per-person rule. No seasonal cold-water rule.
The federal baseline
Federal default: children under 13 must wear a USCG-approved life jacket on a recreational vessel that is underway, unless they’re below decks or in an enclosed cabin. Where a state has its own child-wear rule, the state rule applies on its waters (33 CFR 175.15(c), 175.25). Coast Guard required safety equipment →
Boater education card (the “Vermont boating license”)
Most states don’t issue a boating license. What they require is a boater education card: proof you passed an approved boating safety course.
Who needs it
Anyone born after Jan 1, 1974 operating any motorized vessel, including PWC (no horsepower minimum). Ages 10-11 must take a classroom course. No one under 12 may operate a motor over 6 hp.
The card
Vermont boating safety education certificate (issued by Vermont State Police; carry on board)
Source: boat-ed.com
Vermont jet ski (PWC) laws
Minimum age
16 to operate (even with a course certificate)
Rules on the water
Everyone aboard must wear a USCG-approved life jacket; operator must attach the engine cut-off lanyard; sunrise to sunset only; boater education required if born after Jan 1, 1974; no-wake speed within 200 ft of shore, people in the water, canoes or other vessels, and docks.
Source: boat-ed.com
Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules
Sailboards: anyone under 16 must wear a life jacket; sailboards are exempt from no-wake-within-200-ft and the one-life-jacket-per-person carry rule. Free ID stickers for canoes, kayaks and rowboats are available from Marine Patrol officers. No kiteboarding- or SUP-specific statute found.
Boat registration in Vermont
Any vessel propelled by a motor, including PWC, must be registered with Vermont DMV; motorboats 15 years old or newer must also be titled. Non-motorized vessels (canoes, kayaks, sailboats, SUPs) are exempt. Out-of-state or USCG-documented boats need a Vermont validation sticker if used on Vermont waters 60+ days in a calendar year.
Popular boating waters in Vermont
- Lake Champlain
- Lake Memphremagog
- Lake Bomoseen
- Lake Willoughby
- Harriman Reservoir (Lake Whitingham)
- Lake Dunmore
- Connecticut River
- Lake Carmi
Some of the waters Vermont boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.
VesselSOS on Vermont waters
- Life in danger? One tap dials 911. The screen shows your GPS position and a word-for-word script: say “Boat emergency, I’m on the water” and the name of the lake, river or bay you’re on.
- On the coast and the Great Lakes it also shows which Coast Guard sector covers your position, with that sector’s 24-hour line as a second Call button, and a VHF Channel 16 MAYDAY script filled with your boat’s details for you to read on your own radio.
- A live link for family ashore (Plus, free during the beta): your position, speed, course and phone battery in any browser, no app needed on their end. You send it by text yourself.
- Not an emergency? The tow screen has Call buttons for the TowBoatUS and Sea Tow 24-hour dispatch lines, or your own member number.
What it doesn’t do: it doesn’t call the Coast Guard for you and isn’t connected to 911 or any rescue system. Nobody is alerted automatically if you’re late. The return-time check only asks “Are you OK?” on your own phone. It doesn’t replace a VHF radio, a PLB or EPIRB, or the life jackets the law requires.
iPhone only, in invite-only TestFlight beta. Not in the App Store yet, no Android. US support (911 routing, American English) is in beta version 1.4 and later.
Quick answers
What is the Vermont life jacket law for kids?
Children under 12 must wear a USCG-approved wearable life jacket at all times while underway on the open deck of any vessel.
Do you need a boating license in Vermont?
Anyone born after Jan 1, 1974 operating any motorized vessel, including PWC (no horsepower minimum). Ages 10-11 must take a classroom course. No one under 12 may operate a motor over 6 hp.
How old do you have to be to drive a jet ski in Vermont?
16 to operate (even with a course certificate)
Do you have to register a boat in Vermont?
Any vessel propelled by a motor, including PWC, must be registered with Vermont DMV; motorboats 15 years old or newer must also be titled. Non-motorized vessels (canoes, kayaks, sailboats, SUPs) are exempt. Out-of-state or USCG-documented boats need a Vermont validation sticker if used on Vermont waters 60+ days in a calendar year.
Sources
State boating agency: Vermont State Police, Marine Division (with the Vermont Warden Service; registration through Vermont DMV)
- https://www.boat-ed.com/vermont/handbook/
- https://assets.kalkomey.com/boater/pdfs/handbook/vermont-handbook-entire.pdf
- https://vsp.vermont.gov/divisions/fieldforce/recenforcement/marine
- https://www.atlanticarea.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Northeast-District/Units/Sector-Northern-New-England/
Checked October 2026. Laws change; confirm with Vermont State Police before you go.
This page summarizes the law for planning; it isn’t legal advice. Where this page and the official text differ, the official text wins. Spotted an error? Email support@vesselsos.com.